Yes, neither meat nor vegetables are essential in the human diet, which is the reason I asked Laurent Quinn Proper why s/he stated that "meat is essential."

I looked up all-meat diets to learn a little more about them. The traditional Inuit diet appears to be composed entirely of fish and other raw flesh (with a little "fireweed," a plant, occasionally): "Vitamins and minerals which are typically derived from plant sources are nonetheless present in most Inuit diets. Vitamins A and D are present in the oils and livers of cold-water fishes and mammals. Vitamin C is obtained through sources such as caribou liver, kelp, whale skin, and seal brain; because these foods are typically eaten raw or frozen, the vitamin C they contain, which would be destroyed by cooking, is instead preserved.[6]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inuit_diet

well, remember vangelica, i said balanced. doesn't it occur to you why we are created as omnivores? because both meat and produce are needed for the peak of human development. meat, with its fat and cholestrol, also help someone keep warm, of course in moderation, just like produce. while the body needs to not be hacking badly, it cannot afford to work with weak muscle fibers, thus is the work of protein, which in no meatless salad is found. the same science you use against me works for me.

Thomasracer, omnivores are organisms that are able to eat diets ranging from primarily plant-based foods to primarily meat-based foods. The healthfulness of the diet depends on whether it supplies necessary nutrients to maintain healthy development and avoid disease, not on the balance of meat and produce in the diet.

What is the source of your view that "both meat and produce are needed for the peak of human development?" This doesn't match with any literature I have read. Millions of people are ovo-lacto vegetarian, for example, and eat no meat, yet are very healthy, showing that meat is in fact not needed for peak human development. Also, since vitamin B12 can be synthesized by organic chemists, there is now no need for any animal products in the human diet.

Plants provide ample protein in the diet. Rice and beans; peanut butter and wheat; corn and beans: all easily provide all the essential and non-essential amino acids that one needs. A meatless salad of corn and beans could provide all your protein needs at a meal.

Here is an example of a research article that found that plant-based diets with grain as the main protein source supplied the protein needs of childrens and adults in India:

The best form of protein.

I honestly don't dislike animals but when a vegetarian or vegan is around, I'll treat animals like **** just to spite them and their pressing ways.

Why do you assume all vegeterians and vegans try to press their way of life onto you? If you try so hard to push your opinions on them then they are entitled to do the same thing to you.

I don't try to press my opinions on anybody... I merely stated that when a vegan is around, I will over-do any of my regular routines to annoy them while they press you with their bombardment of question directed to guilt you into feeling pity for an animal.

I'm not in here telling anyone to eat meat or not to eat meat, that is their own personal decision. I am replying to the thread with my own actions.

EDIT: You are right about one thing, not all vegetarians or vegans press their opinions on people, however the majority (I have encountered) do.

I went out with a vegetarian and her family were all big vegans, I began to ask questions out of curiosity to her dad etc.

And he was just like well it's a life choice, I wouldn't wanna tell you things that would put you off.

So I was like fair enough, banging on about how inhumane it is wouldn't deter me anyway, but it's nice that he didn't lay out his beliefs even after I gave him the opportunity to do so.

Then you might want to choose your words a little more carefully because this...

..pretty much says that you do press your opinions on other people and that you consider all vegans to be the same. It also suggests cruelty to animals more than eating meat, by the way.

I guess you can infer that with my spite, I am pressing my opinions onto them? I have never really thought about it in that fashion. It's more of a "hey, you know what? Feck you and this cow" type of response. I don't intend any kind of undertones, though.

And the reason, I say I treat animals poorly when a vegan is around is because typically a vegan has a bleeding heart for animals, and so animal cruelty and eating meat alike pisses them off. Which I find humorous.

And as I have said earlier, you are right about me generalizing vegetarians and vegan. But the majority I have encountered are the way I generalize them.

I also find it humorous when people get mad over stupid problems. Poking them only comes natural.